Just Communication
by Yuki Kimagure
Summary: The mute prince Van is tired of his chained life and writes a story of the silent prince Tivel and his meetings with the blind clairvoyant Hineto. But no one realizes that this story is reality. Rated for description vivid of their communication. V/H fic!
1. Escapades

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the Escaflowne characters.  
  
A/N: I thought of it just now. In my head... um... yeah. Hehe! Enjoy!  
  
  
  
  
  
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Just Communication  
  
Chapter I: Escapades  
  
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Van smiled as he held his gift in his hands. It was wrapped in a bright red tissue paper with a gold ribbon around it. Looking to her in asking, his sister Merle smiled. "Just open it already! I can't wait to see the look on your face!" she said happily, her shoulder length pink hair swishing in every way.  
  
Finding the edge, he slowly removed the wrapping, as if saving it. As a brown box emerged, he blinked to it and sighed. It was always like Merle to wrap up presents in a box. Opening that, he pulled out an elaborate pen and a large pack of stationary paper. Smiling, he hugged her closely.  
  
"I knew you'd love it. And that should keep you busy while you are home alone without me." she said with a smirk, earning a sound of laughter from him. Not a 'haha' laughter, more of a breathy one. But she loved those better. "Well, I do have a trip I have to go to and you have to stay here and rule the country because you know how good Folken can take care of his duties and all." she said and earned another breathy laugh from him.  
  
"I still will miss you" he signed. She smiled and hugged her beloved brother.  
  
"I really don't want to leave you here all by yourself." she said with a frown. "My vacation can wait for another few months until you can come with me."  
  
"Don't worry about me. I can take care of myself." he reminded her. She sighed and remembered their childhood. Since Van was mute and couldn't speak, all of the kids used to pick on him. But she'd always stick up for him and even took up learning to sign so he wouldn't have to write everything down. And in turn, they became the best of friends. Of course, with being his companion, her old friends had left her as well. So she set herself to be his protector from those who wanted to hurt him.  
  
"Okay, but If anyone upsets you, notify me right away." Merle said and left him to write.  
  
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Once upon a time there was a prince. He was very unhappy with his life. Of course the kingdom was very prosperous and his parents loved him enough to not force him to marry until he was ready but he was fed up with it all. Because of a riding accident, it rendered him mute and lost the ability to be on his own. His wonderful sister, though she meant well, locks him up in the castle and won't permit him to leave unless she's with him.  
  
His brother was another matter. Instead of taking up the responsibility of ruling the country after their parents deaths and taking, care of the mute son, he indulged in the pleasures of his two cat women mistresses, the twins Hera and Vera. And in turn, all of the work is dumped on the mute prince Tivel because of the easy ability to take advantage of him. But Tivel dreamed of the day when he could leave this place and truly be happy with people who would love him for how he was on the inside, not for pity or for their advantage.  
  
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Van pulled off his shirt and tossed it to the side. As he looked back to his room, he sighed. Eventually he'd have to go back to this fancy prison. But for now, he'll have a little time around his kingdom. Releasing his wings, he flew down to the soft and grassy green earth. Breaking off in a run, he hopped the large castle walls and casually walked into the markets.  
  
There was a flurry of people everywhere buying the essentials for their daily lives. A certain booth caught his eye. It had stacks upon stacks of journals. Looking over the merchandise, he picked up a few books and a really nice blue pen with a phoenix design around it. Handing what he wanted to the shop owner, he saw his reflection through the dark glasses. Feeling her way along the table for the stuff he wanted to buy, she smiled.  
  
"Sorry, I'm normally a lot better at this." she said and found the merchandise. Feeling the covers, she gave an approving nod. "Yes, this is my favorite. It's really soft and the binding is excellent. Fifteen for all." she said and held out her hand.  
  
"Fifteen? That's not a lot." signed Van but she just held her hand out. 'Oh, she's blind.' he thought with a frown. Reaching into his pockets, he pulled out fifty and placed it into her hand.  
  
"Hey! This is too much! It's only fifteen." she exclaimed to Van's surprise.  
  
'How did she know that I gave her too much?' he thought. Reaching his hands over to her extended one, he gently pushed her fingers to rest on her palm. She shrugged and placed the money into a slotted box.  
  
"Thank you! Come again!" she said and blindly waited for her next customer. Using the advantage of her lack of sight, he stood to the side and watched her. She was very peculiar. Looking this way and that, she looked like the typical blind person but the way her head snapped to the direction of someone who was walking inconspicuously to the shop was kind of intriguing.  
  
Her sandy blond hair rested softly on her shoulders and over the sides of her shades as her long bangs covered part of the glasses. Opening the first page of the book, he started to sketch her. Her long but gentle nose, soft wisps of eyebrows, smooth neck, and tender shoulders, everything he sketched. Too bad he couldn't show Merle because he'd be scolded for sneaking out of the castle by himself. His pen weaved around to create the outline of her cotton dress. The many fleurs-de-lis that were sewn into the plunging neckline slowly emerged from the paper and soon the flowing undershirt she wore with the high lace neck.  
  
Yes it was turning out great and he smiled at his work. "Excuse me sir. Is there anything I can help you with?" said a masculine voice. He was young maybe a couple of years younger than the girl. They were obviously brother and sister, his long brown hair tied into a low ponytail and forest green eyes said that.  
  
"I'm mute." signed Van to him. He nodded with a smile.  
  
"Oh. Do you need anything at the shop?" he asked in sign language. He looked over to the picture in Van's hands and blinked. "Wow! That's a really good picture of Hitomi. You drew it just now?" he asked. Van nodded and blushed at the feeling of being caught.  
  
"Her name is Hitomi?" he asked signing.  
  
"Yep. Hitomi Kanzaki. And I'm her brother Mamoru Kanzaki." he said with a grin.  
  
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So Tivel left his jail for a while. Upon his diminutive escapade, he sighted a peculiar woman. Hineto. Fair but blind, she possessed a power that he could never comprehend. Clairvoyance. And the legend begins...  
  
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A/N: Hi! I'm really going to be nice this time and make this a V/H fic to the core! No Inhestia! Hahaha! So... I hope you will love this story because it is going to be great! And to helping its success is to review review REVIEW! Hahahaha! Luvs! Bye! 


	2. Loving Hate

Disclaimer: I do not own Escaflowne.  
  
A/N: I love that you all like my story! Unlike "The Painting", there won't be the chick in the middle. It'll be Van and Hitomi all the way! Hehe! Well, I hope you continue to review and I love you all!  
  
  
  
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Just Communication  
  
Chapter II: Loving Hate  
  
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Folken laid in bed, a female figure at each side of him. With luxurious silk sheets and a roaring fire next to the bed, it was a vision of royal splendor. Reaching over the silver catgirl to the right of him, he picked up the heavy gold crown. Looking into the large energist jewels, he frowned at the man in there. This man was resentful, cold, and childish in his mannerisms. Most of all, he carried deep hatred.  
  
When fate had chosen Van to be king, he rejoiced at the freedom of remaining a prince for the rest of his days. But fate decided to evilly change its mind and take the body of the gentle old horse. And with it, the kingdom was given to him. Ever since that day, he was living a nightmare. He could no longer marry the twin catwomen he so desperately loved. The only thing he could do was to make them the worse thing imaginable, his mistresses. But they stayed true to him and willingly were reduced to that title.  
  
So in turn, he hated his brother. Many times he tried to kill him while training him to swordfight. But his love for him stayed his hand. Even though he hated Van with a passion, he still held a deep brotherly love for him. And he didn't want to hurt their sister Merle, who was so attached to Van, by slaughtering him mercilessly.  
  
Sitting up, he rubbed his forehead. He didn't want to kill him because he was still needed to do his work for him and write speeches. But he didn't want to face him every second of the day. Maybe he could sell him into a priesthood. He could still write the speeches and he'd be locked up into a monastery. Only that would take time with a middleman to send back and forth letters.  
  
And then he finally figured out the most perfect way. Tonight, he'll be moved into the basements with only a simple bed and a desk. All he'd tell Merle was that he contracted a rare skin disease and any ray of sunlight would be fatal. Smirking to himself, he got out of bed, pulled on some clothes, and left to tell the servants to prepare it.  
  
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Van was back at the book and trinket shop. He had written more into the story, leaving Tivel thinking at night about the mysterious Hineto. Hitomi sat in the corner, happily studying the shape of a statue of two lovers. Long and sensual fingers traced their way down the hip of the woman and then over her calves and to the heel of her foot. Then, her leg came to the man's waist and up his side. Caressing the hard stone muscles on his chest, her fingers traced around broad shoulders and up a strong neck to a well sculpted head.  
  
Suddenly, she shuddered and gasped. "Van must not leave. He'll be alone!: she yelled. Clutching her head, she quietly cried. He knelt in front of her and placed his hands over hers.  
  
'What do you mean 'don't leave'?' he demanded in his mind as she struggled to get away from him.  
  
"You mustn't go! You'll be so alone. Please don't be alone..." she said, whispering at the end. Quickly, she pulled him in an embrace. She was warm to him, soothing as well. Her being reminded him of his mother, the Late Queen Varie. Everything about her was gentle and kind and she always smelled of sweet foods. And her death hurt him the most. His father's passing was hard enough but for a year, he had to watch her slowly waste away until she was a cold corpse in her warm and comforting bed.  
  
Gently, he pulled the shaded glasses from her face. The palest of sky blue had captured her eyes in a blind beauty. Small flecks of emerald green, what he presumed to be her normal eye color sparkled at him. They quivered and stared blankly at him.  
  
Moving her hands shyly to his face, she frowned in concentration. Gliding her fingertips over his forehead, she slowly moved over his eyes and traced a finger along his regal and perfect nose. Her hands then sensuously danced across his cheeks and strong jaw line. As they traced across his lips, they stopped. Placing her left hand on his right shoulder, she traced her right index finger over the velvety texture. Blushing, she pulled herself away and placed her hands on her lap.  
  
"I'm sorry. I got a little carried away." She apologized and stood up. She walked quickly to her room and closed the door. Quietly, he got up and walked up to the door.  
  
Knocking firmly, he waited for her to reply. "Who is it?" she asked from inside. He just stood there stuck. He couldn't communicate to her through words, that was a fact. And surely he couldn't sign to her because she was blind. The gods were probably laughing at him in this minor turmoil inside of him.  
  
Retreating sadly away from the door, he left to the front of the house, the storefront. Mamoru caught sight of him as he walked in with food for dinner. "Hey Van! Dinner should be ready soon if you want to stay." he said happily. Placing the parcels down in the kitchen, he pulled out a bag of a few potatoes and started peeling.  
  
Van cleared his throat to get Mamoru's attention. "Your sister freaked out a while ago. She says if I go back home, I'll be alone." he signed in confusion. He nodded his head and went back to peeling potatoes.  
  
"Yeah, that's her power. She probably had a vision." he said matter-of- factly. The prince blinked in even more confusion.  
  
"How would she get a vision? How would she understand it if she's blind?" he signed again.  
  
"Well she's had a lot of visions in her lifetime. So many that she can be able to distinguish what is what."  
  
"But she said my name. How would she know what I look like?" he signed. Looking back to the potatoes, he peeled the last few.  
  
"Well, even though she can't see with her eyes, she has sight in her mind. It's very complicated to explain but her mind gives her the same images her eyes would." he said and began to chop them lightly in to the bowl.  
  
Van knocked on the table to retrieve his attention. "Do you two live alone? Where are your parents? Or Family?" he mentioned.  
  
Mamoru's eyes saddened. "Father left us when Hitomi was born. He was a very prideful man and despised the fact of having a daughter, plus a blind one. And Mother became sad and longed for Father to come back. And a few months later, broke and hungry, he crawled back to her. Stupidly enough, she took him back."  
  
Van frowned and looked down. Mamoru pulled out the sausage and cut them up into good sized chunks.  
  
"Well, a year later, she had me and I became the son that my father always wanted. He'd parade me around the town while Hitomi would be locked up in her room wearing shabby clothes. A few years after that, Mother fell ill and Father never cared enough to get her a good doctor. She died while I was seven."  
  
"As time went by, he married a local prostitute that he was paying for her sexual favors. She was the ugliest and most cruel hag. She hated us equally. But she only pampered me because I was Father's favorite. Hitomi, on the other hand, was beaten and bruised by her and Father would just sit back and sadistically laugh. I could only take it for a while, nursing her injuries and sneaking her some real food, rather than the slop they gave her."  
  
"One time, after I had come back from my schooling, I had caught the wench beating her until she was bloody. I fought with her, pleading for her to stop but she turned her assault towards me. So, I grabbed grandfather's sword from the mantle and killed her. Leaving her body on the floor, I helped Hitomi wash up and calmed her crying. Taking the sword, I sat at the kitchen table, looking down at her bloody form."  
  
"I must have gone insane from watching the blood ooze from her, her cold black eyes staring at me in dead misbelief. When my father came home, he called me. Hearing no reply, he walked in and stumbled across her body. Before he could speak, I had slain him as well. Cleaning up the blood and the sword, I had dragged their bodies out in a sack to the river and tossed them in. Of course you know that there is a waterfall and under that, a water cavern that sinks into an abyss. So, inspectors came in and asked where they were. I simply said that they ran off together to a place unknown and wasn't likely to come back."  
  
"Brother? I need help with my dress." said Hitomi, who came to the kitchen. Van looked to her and then Mamoru in question. Putting down the knife and dumping the sausage in the bowl, he walked up to her.  
  
"Why do you want to change dresses? The one you have on is fine." he asked as he picked her up. She smiled as she cuddled up into his embrace.  
  
"That's for me to know and you to know later." she said jokingly. "You're getting stronger."  
  
"If you'd excuse me Van; I must help my sister for a moment." he said as they retreated to the hall and into her room.  
  
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The tragic Hineto and her brother only had each other in the hard world of peasantry. But they were kind. They shared their somewhat fair food with Tivel, who was used to more hearty portions of food but surprisingly loved it. He observed Hineto the most though. The way she would play hide and seek with the local children and always found them intrigued him. She was always so graceful that she didn't seem to be blind at all.  
  
He'd watch her as she would sew with ease, mending the children's dolls and dresses. Each stitch was masterfully sewn in and the things would come out better than before. And she'd notice he'd be looking at her and would give him a warm smile. Like she knew something that he didn't. Maybe she did. Maybe she had perfect vision and he was blind instead.  
  
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A/N: I know it took me forever to update but I haven't been able to figure out how to write this chapter. But I will so make a longer and better chapter. Until then please review! I'm actually gonna make this a strict Hitomi Van story and I can't continue if I don't get a lick of reviews. Kind of like a hostage huh? Hehe. Well, I hope you liked this chapter! Bye!  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
~!~ 


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